Due to The Call and Response Conference, my team was delayed in publishing last week’s podcast episode. Earlier this week, we published the episode, featuring my aunt (mom’s baby sister), Latrice Williams, talking about the HISTORY of Our Stories and specifically discussing the history of our family across generations.
Today’s episode features a conversation with my dear friend, godmother, mentor, and acclaimed choir director and Bennett Belle, Joyce Garrett talking about the HISTORY of Our Stories. In it, she shares her personal experience participating in the Civil Rights Movement as a college student and the continuous fight for racial justice today.
Joyce Garrett, a native of Kinston, North Carolina consistently produced outstanding choral ensembles for over thirty years at Eastern High School, Washington, DC. A consummate musician and exemplary music educator, Garrett served as Founder/Artistic Director of the Excellence Without Excuses program, a youth intervention, values-training and scholarship program she created for the award-winning Eastern High School Choir of Washington, DC during her teaching career there from 1972-1999. Garrett directed the United States Naval Academy Gospel Choir in Annapolis, Maryland from 1990 until 2006, performing throughout the United States from California to New York, showcasing the Gospel Choir’s talents, and serving as a catalyst for Academy minority student recruitment and retention. Garrett received the Bachelor of Arts Degree from Bennett College, and the Master of Music Degree from The Catholic University in Washington, DC. During her teaching career, she received numerous honors and awards Currently, she serves as the Music and Worship Arts Ministry Director of the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA. She is married to James Garrett and is the mother of two adult children, Rodney and Melanie Messer.
Follow her work through the Joyce Garrett Fan Page.
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Listen to full audio version of Episode 4 with Latrice Williams here:
Listen to the full audio version of Episode 5 with Joyce Garret here:
A SISTA'S JOURNEY 